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Habitat the Game is designed to educate players about the effects that climate change will have on different species around the world while also encouraging players to examine how their own behaviors and ecological footprint will impact the planet.

In the game, players adopt a polar bear and must keep the bear alive and healthy by completing virtual tasks – like washing, grooming and feeding the bear. Additionally, players are challenged to complete real-world ‘missions’ such as turning-off lights, conserving water, recycling, taking public transportation and other ‘speedy missions’ that decrease the player’s ecological footprint. The game further challenges players to make these actions a part of their daily routine, by awarding more rewards and a bonus mini-game to players who successfully complete 5-day missions. By completing these virtual tasks and real-world missions, players will progress through levels, increasing the health of their bear and earning badges of recognition for their efforts. Ultimately the goal is to save the world by improving the bear’s health.

Habitat also encourages players to get out into nature and collect virtual ‘Habitat Pins’, which function like trading cards and can be shared and traded with friends, family and other players (currently there are more than 100 Pins in over a dozen countries around the world). The pins add a co-op aspect to the gameplay and also encourage players to continue interacting with the game, nurturing their bear and living a ecologically-minded lifestyle. For more information on the game, including curricular materials, videos and more, visit Habitat’s Digital Chalkie

Was hard to understand the gam play at first. Otherwise Okay. It is a smart way to get kids learning about the world, and how they can help.

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ice princess

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I really enjoy the concept of the game, to help students learn about global warming. However, I think the game is largely lacking in execution. Taking care of a polar bear while fun, should not be the only aspect of the game if it is to teach children about climate change because polar bears dying out is just a small part of that. You could incorporate the deforestation of the rain forest, increasing storms across the world, even the increase in the number of earthquakes. One cool idea would maybe to have the game expand out to a worldly level, and the levels/stages of the games could be based around a different aspects of climate change and a different location to help players really get a sense of the global scale climate change is taking place on. It is not just the ice caps melting and the polar bears dying out. I did however like the idea of the missions, and the timing differences in the types of quests available.